


he's a parasite, sinking into his daily thoughts

by Blepbean



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood and Violence, Denial of Feelings, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, I HAVENT READ THE COMICS YET OKAY, Korrasami and opal x bolin are in here to theyre so adorable og, M/M, Mako's bisexual awakening, Mutual Pining, WU SWORD BF OMG MY BRAIN IS SO BIG, and wu's rapier awakening, bit of a slow burn, no proofreading or editing we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:02:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26350846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blepbean/pseuds/Blepbean
Summary: After the attack, the gang splits off in their own ways. Korra and Asami are a couple, Bolin and Opal are now going in a vacation to Kyoshi island. Mako feels like he's stuck behind, having to bodyguard Wu. But something ignites in him, a spark, and Wu is like a parasite that makes Mako's chest feel all warm and fuzzy.“Perhaps, you are something else. Because darling, you are something that is further than beauty and perfection itself. You are something else that I cannot describe, as you sneak up in my very thoughts, you grow like a fungus, a parasite, a foreign body that has wormed itself into me. But I know that you do not like the same anatomy. So I say a silent apology to you, hang up my thoughts for you in my closet where I hang up my skeletons. And when you decide to wear something nice, I’ll clean it out just for you, my love.”
Relationships: Mako/Prince Wu (Avatar)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 144





	1. is it better to speak?

**Author's Note:**

> ok a few things  
> 1\. i just finished tlok and omg wuko is amazing  
> 2\. i didnt edit and proofread this, a lot of errors (i literally wrote this so quickly within a two days)  
> 3\. i havent read the comics  
> 4\. im sorry if they seem out of of character, i wanted to explore more on their characters (the attack would have been so traumitzing on mako and wu trying to get stronger because he always felt weak, and how the earht empire is still homophobic so he covers it up by flirting)
> 
> kudos, comments and feedback is appreciated

1.

The very first signs of Wu sneaking up on Mako’s head, like a parasite, a foreign body sinking it’s way into his daily thoughts, in his day to day life, in his sleep, or perhaps when he holds his breath and closes his eyes, that he’s back with Wu, in the hotel of his room, gliding his own fingers across soft brown skin.

It was deep into the night, Korra just left a while ago after helping to heal his arm (or atleast keep him company, it gets lonely in the hospital. Everything is washed out in white, too clinical, too clean. He remembered how it felt like he was suffocated in his room)

There’s a sinking feeling in his stomach, going deeper and deeper. He sits up from his bed, taking off his blanket off him, keeping his knees close to his chest while he stares out into the window, the moonlight casting everything in a soft, blue hue. He still thinks about how the spirit vines felt in his arm, it felt like the very gods themselves were shocking him, hotter than lava, hotter than the very inferno’s in hell.

Mako quickly snaps out of his thoughts, rustling his messy hair when Wu opens the door, standing there, like he’s hesitating. 

“Hey,” Wu says. It’s like the moon itself is in his very room, holding her hand out to let Wu’s skin glow within the night. There’s something magical about it, enchanting.

“Hi.”

The door closes behind him. Mako notices how  _ different  _ Wu looks, there’s eyebags dragging his eyes underneath, no hair gel in his hair that makes his hair fall into soft, messy curls. 

“You okay?” Mako asks.

Wu pulls out a chair, the grey sweatpants and matching hoodie wrinkles as he sits down, he puts his hands into his lap, “I was worried about you.”

“You should be worrying about yourself,” Mako says in a soft tone, sweet and gentle like honey, “are you okay?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” Wu replies, “I know that the Varrick’s wedding is soon but… I just… I just--”

“What?”

Soft, green eyes meet the hard, rough eyes of Mako. It is  _ electrifying _ , fire mixing with the grass, burning everything hot. Mako has to look down at his cast.

“I just dropped by to see if you’re alright,” Wu says quickly, smiling, but his eyes says something else, another thought, another set of words, “I’ve heard hospitals can be lonely.”

_ The electricity runs through his arm and he thinks that he might die and be left, and his ashes will be spread all across and he won’t ever see Bolin-- _

“It’s… I… I couldn’t sleep,” Wuko whispered, but it’s loud in the silent air between them, “I thought I was gonna  _ die _ , Wu.”

And he suddenly  _ regrets  _ saying it out loud. They’re nothing more than a bodyguard and a king, nothing more than to it, just protect Prince Wu. But he feels the cracks slowly opening and it’s  _ painful _ , revealing the ugly and the truth in front of Wu, the last person that he thought would see him like this. 

The tears feel hot, burned against his skin, “I’m sorry I’m--”

He felt Wu wrap him around his chest, soft, warm, like the campfires that he and Bolin used to make every night when they were kids, living off the street, telling stories while they huddled around the warmth. It feels like home, he thought back then that it was weird, that a person can’t be  _ home _ .

Wu whispered sweet reassurance to his ear, it’s hot against his ear. And he thinks, that’s where it all started, within his arms, in the night after the attack. Wu holding him like something that’s fragile, picking up the broken pieces from the vase. After that five minutes, when Wu left, he tried to forget how his warm touches are now phantom, ghostly, a reminder of what happened just five minutes ago. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  





The second signs were on the day of the wedding. Behind them the lights glistens in a beautiful blue glow. Mako tries to forget what happened last night. It’s kinda working.

“--But that doesn’t mean I’m going to set you up with Korra, so don’t ask.”

“That’s okay Mako,” Wu said, his hair not undone, full of hair gel, there’s no eye bags underneath and he looks like himself, lively, sharp, “sometimes the evacuation is it’s own reward.”

“Good to see you Prince Wu, or should I saw King Wu,” Korra cuts in, and Mako reminiscences about the past, that  _ spark,  _ that electricity that was so intoxicating that was lost, leaving behind something else, friendship, “you finally ready to get back to Ba Sing Se and take back the throne.”

“Yeah about that… I was actually thinking of stepping down as King and getting rid of the monarchy.”

Mako squinted his eyes, “are you joking?”

“For once I’m not.” Mako can’t believe what Wu just said, “now I know what you’re gonna say you’re being lazy--”

Mako slowly tunes out and he only talks when he needs to. Wu is a weird thing, full of jokes and complexes but he sometimes sees glints of something else behind those eyes, a full story, just like when Wu spilled his guts about the pressure of being prince. There’s something  _ more  _ other than hair care, skin care, foot care and his allergy to bee stings. 

Wu to Mako is something else, he’s already inched his way into his skin, he’s now entering his blood stream. He is a foreign body that has sunk it’s way into his daily life and thoughts. The effects will start tomorrow. He still doesn’t know this  _ feeling _ , it’s so weird.

When Wu leaves, Mako followed him with his eyes. He didn’t mean to. He just  _ did _ .

“--I’ve got your back, and I always will,” he said. And he means it. Korra smiles so sweetly that reminded him of old times, pro bending times.

Korra looks back to Wu on the dancefloor, “did sometimes happen between you two?”

Mako puts his hands up in the air to defend himself, “what? No? Of course not that’s impossible. We get along so  _ well _ , we’re like friends, but not  _ best friends _ but not like--”

“Uhuh,” Korra looked at him, then back at Wu. Then she puts on a shit-eating grin like she just figured out the equation to rid the world’s problems in one sweep, “alright, I’m gonna go and leave you to it.”

“You’re not telling me something.”

Korra waved him off.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


3.

“Mako! Get your head in the game.”

“Sorry!”

“Is something the matter? Do you need a day off or?”

“No it’s… it’s nothing, I can keep working.”

Wu somehow worms his way in, he’s getting a hold of him more and more.

  
  
  


4.

The fourth time was at the Air temple in the United Republic city. He shakes off his thoughts, it’s weird how he thinks of him. He shouldn’t be. He hasn’t seen him in a while, and his next shift to bodyguard Wu is next week. He groans.

“You okay buddy?” Bolin cuts in.

“Sorry,” he says, and Bolin puts down the disk, landing with a  _ thud  _ against the ground, dust clouds around it, “I’m just… I don’t know.”

“Is something the matter?” Korra said in.

“Nothing,” Mako said, going into his stance, curling his hands into a fist, “let’s just keep playing pro bending, we haven’t done this in a while.”

  
“We’re not really playing this properly though,” Jinora cuts in, “I’m with Mako and Bolin and Ikki and Meelo are with Korra--”

“It’s fine,” Mako said, “if they manage to add Airbending to the competitions then  _ maybe  _ we’ll pay properly.”

  
  
  
  
  
  


5.

“Hey bro,” Bolin puts his hands on his shoulder, “we should eat out, my treat.”

And that night, they find themselves slurping green noodles. He’s sort of missed this, the loud environment that’s always filled with chefs and waiters talking to see who can be the loudest. There’s the aroma of something hot, spicy, mixing in with callous conversations of the customers.

This is nice. It feels like there’s some order back in life, too many nights spent tossing and turning in his bed after a nightmare.

“So how’s Opal,” he points his chopsticks at him, “you better treat her well.”

Bolin gets mouthfulls of the water tribe noodles before he speaks, “I AM!” Specks of soup lands on the table.

“You might wanna--”

Bolin swallowed it all in one go, “we’re going on a trip soon! After I heard that Korra and Asami went on a vacation together I was like ‘Oh! Why don’t me and Opal go in a vacation to the Kyoshi islands’ and we’re going there tomorrow,” Bolin stops, and puts his chopsticks down, “what about you? Getting any girls? Fighting crime, you’re back in the police force right?”

“Yeah… I’m doing a lot.”   
  
The truth is, he isn't. He is still in recovery, going slow, taking his time to turnover the nightmares that leave him panting in the middle of the night, hands clammy and sweaty. Everyone is doing things and going out and getting their life together after the mess, yet here he is, standing in the middle, stranded, watching everyone drift away.

“I’m uh… I have to bodyguard Wu next week.”

“Again?” Bolin stood up, “Mako…”

“Bolin,” he looked at his bowl, but it reminds him of olive green eyes, he glanced up again, “he’s not  _ that  _ bad.”

“Okay he might not be that bad but you told me about his singing--”

“--I wear earplugs.”

“Ear Plugs?”

“Yes, ear plugs. The chief gave it to me,” Mako sighed, putting his forehead against the forehead table. Maybe, if he hits his head hard enough he might get these thoughts of  _ him _ out of his head, it’s weird and strange. Wu is like a sickness that he can’t get out.

“So that means we might not see each other in a while huh,” Bolin picked his chopsticks up again and stirs the soup with it.

“Yeah.”

“But that’s good, right?” Bolin said, “I mean everyone is finally getting their life together.”

“Yeah.”

But he feels a sinking feeling in his chest. He’s running a race, he’s watching everyone fade into the fog in the distance, and all he can do is collapse and watch them all move on while he’s stuck in the past, the ground sinking beneath him.

  
  
  


6.

When he walks into Wu in the large courtyard, it’s like he’s a completely different person. 

Wu moves so elegantly, moving like the wind, like a dancer. So fast, as he spars with someone else in full protective gear under the hot sun. A breeze blows by, picking up the leaves and rustling it at the front of Mako’s feet. But his eyes don't deter from Wu’s rapier, it’s like another part of his body, a limb. He sidesteps to avoid a thrust from his opponent, then, so casually, he extends his right foot, extending his sword as he thrust the rapier into the protective gear, a buzz fills the courtyard.

“I did it!” Wu exclaims, and when he takes off his helmet Mako sees the sweat on his forehead, glistening in the sunlight. He moves the bouncy curls from his face, and when he smiles, he thinks he’s going to melt. Mako is full of fire, he thinks, that if he gets too close to Wu, he’ll light him on fire.

But that’s impossible.

“Did you see that!” Wu looks at Mako, his opponent bows at him and leaves the courtyard, “oh my god that was crazy, I thought I would never be able to do that!”

He feels his cheeks rise with a sort of warmth, but he shakes it off. It’s  _ Wu _ , for goodness sake. He’s Wu. He’s Wu. He’s Wu.

  
“Are you good Mako?” He takes off his gear, putting it on the bench, his helmet rests underneath his arm, “you look like you’re somewhere else.”

“I’m good,” he clears his throat, “I’m good.”

“It’s been three months,” Wu says, “how’s your arm.”

_ He goes back to that night, ignoring the warmth, that spark that runs between them that goes into his bloodstream and infects him like a virus.  _

“It’s fine,” Mako walks towards him, too close, yet too far from Wu, his arm has a different hue of skin than the rest, he’s lucky to still be firebending in this arm, “Korra really helped me heal so… but that was really cool, I didn’t know you could fight.”   
  


Wu nervously chuckled, sitting on the bench. Mako sees how he’s still the same, slim and thin. It’s weird to see him in a different light, but he’s still the same. Stupid jokes and the easy going attidute and his infectious laughter.

For a split moment, Mako sees bruises, deep, all black and blue against brown on Wu’s arm. He decides to ignore it.

“I think you kinda got through me that day,” Wu says, staring at the courtyard, the colorful displays of different flowers from all over the world, the grass rustles beneath him and Wu bites his lower lip, “that I needed to protect myself, and the other boring stuff. Your grandma was nice by the way.”

“You made her faint.”

  
“Oh I did?”

“Yeah, remember?”

Wu puts his sword down next to him, it glints in the sunlight. The semi circle shield that is at the end of the blade is enriched with gold and stone, carvings of ancient earth symbols deep within the shield. The blade itself glows in the sunlight, but there’s a hue of black, like Wu has taken it from the very abyss of space.

“Oh… I must’ve forgotten, I was busy with the foreign affairs and training,” Wu mumbles, but there’s a tone of sadness in his voice, “sorry.”

_ Sorry _

“Don’t be sorry,” Mako said, he sits down next to him, hands in his lap, stretching the seams of his pants, he’s usually not like this, the so called ‘brooding and sad Mako’ like Bolin says isn’t here, “your day must be packed and fun.”

_ Unlike mine _ .

“It’s exhausting,” it feels like they’re slowly breaking down both of their walls, a moment of vulnerability, dig into their secrets like it’s a sacred ritual, “I’m still learning, guess I’m not a dumb prince anymore.”

  
  


7.

The next thing he knows they’re now sparring, weird meteorite with platinum infused sword thingo against a firebender with a bad arm.

Mako’s rusty, slow on his foot and his reaction time. He jumped just at the last second when Wu tried to sweep him off his feet. If he was younger he would’ve stepped on the sword and tossed it away. But it felt like his mind was moving faster than his own body. He sends out a barrage of fire that Wu quickly ducks, he held his weak arm close to his chest.

“Come on hotshot,” Wu taunted, there’s a grin on his face, “lets see what you got.”

“You’ve only been training for two months!”

“And you got a bad arm!” Wu yelled, he shifted his position, left leg behind him now, “it kinda evens out if I’m gonna he’s honest, but is that really fair? I mean like me and my assistant have been talking about fairness during affairs and—“

Mako does a roundhouse kick that sends out fire, it interrupted Wu, “just fight me.”

“Sorry! Sorry.”

They move slow, circling each other. When Mako looks at his eyes, there’s a glint, a spark within the vast forest of his eyes. It holds so much that Mako thought that one day, it’ll all burst down in an ugly spill of a dam.

Wu suddenly takes it up a notch and kicked the tiny pebbles onto Mako. He responded with a jab of fire, which Wu parried in a swift motion. Fire sizzles out like fiery petals, withered away from time. He dodged the thrust that came after the parry, sidestepping then focusing all of his chi to let a blazing kick roar through the air. He barely missed. Wu panted and wiped off the sweat from his forehead.

There’s so much determination and fire within Wu that Mako hasn’t realised. As they bickered about which robe to use for his coronation, or the hair gel that they forgot to bring for Wu. It’s like a thing for the past, and Mako sees himself in Wu, in those eyes, emerald eyes held a spark, a flame within the forest. Suddenly he’s back in the streets, Mako fending off his brother while they scavenge for food. 

He gritted his teeth as he decides to end this, Wu is sneaking up on him more and more and it’s going to stop right here. Mako runs towards him, a fiery dagger formed at his knuckles as he lunged—

And Wu took it as an advantage and sent him to the ground with a shove. The fiery dagger fizzled out.

He gets on top of Mako, a bright silhouette formed at his outline. He looked like he came from the very heavens, an angel with curly brown hair, skin as deep as the earth and those eyes that held so many things, tears, secrets, memories. 

“You tried right?” Wu mumbles. Mako suddenly noticed how close they are. But it’s like a sea that divided them, dangerous waters that they can’t cross. If either one of the falls if they cross, then nothing is left from them, gone is the banter and the eye rolls.

“I did,” Mako panted, “I actually tried.

“Alright, cool  _ buddy _ .”

Wu gets off but he groans, wincing in pain. He took off his leg pads which revealed deep bruises that runs deep into his skin, it’s an ugly thing that contrast against his skin. 

Mako sits up, “Wu what is that.”

“Nothing,” he says, “just from practising.”

“You shouldn’t be pushing yourself.”

“I’m not pushing myself,” Wu stood up.

Mako pushed himself off the ground “You are!” And he found himself gripping his wrist, there it is, that spark, it’s addictive, runs through his veins, “you’re pushing yourself.”

“I just don’t want to be seen as someone weak,” Wu whispered, like a secret between them, “all my life I’ve been seen like a child but… I’m different. I want to get strong and I'm brave—“

Wu shook his hand off him. The warmth is gone.

—“You are brave,” he didn’t know what he’s doing, but he continued to not stop the flow of words, Wu looked at him like he’s the  _ only  _ thing left in his life, “you are building the earth kingdom from the ground up again and you’ve only been practising for two months, Wu.”

“Why are you saying this?”

“Because I  _ care  _ about you,” he looks at him in the eye and warmth floods in his chest, “I was like you, like this. Just promise me you’ll take it easy, please.”

Wu breaks the eye contact, but there’s a smile on his face, “alright, I’ll take it easy on you because I beat you pal.”

“Because I had a bad arm.”

“And I’m a total noob! I said that it evened our the playing field—“

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


8.

Eighth. The eight was the worst. It was after a day of affairs and doing meet ups for the press to maybe bump up some numbers to try to improve the numbers. Mako is stuff as he laid on his bed. He can’t go to sleep.

He’s up to his arm now and soon he will make his way into his brain. This feeling is so new yet so familiar, and Mako wants it gone from his system, flush it out, take whatever med he can get to get this out of him. He just needed to last for a few more months, then he will never see Wu again, he’ll flush him out of his system and he’ll be gone.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


9.

“Is it better to speak, or to die?” Wu whispered to himself as he read. Mako looked at him from the other end of the room.

“What does that mean?” He cuts in. He shoved his hands into his pocket. He wished he had his scarf back.

Wu’s eyes linger on him for just a bit too long, it’s like he’s traced him with his eyes, trying to remember each bit of him, “I don’t know.”

Wu puts his book down, “I’m gonna spar for a bit,” and before Mako can say to not push it too far, he left.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


10.

Korra and Asami are in the palace for a visit, half to help the earth kingdom out and half to spend some quality time together. They winded down and a few options were: dining (“Too dangerous” Mako said), spa night (spa were closed) and sparring (“I just told you to take it easy” Mako said). So they opt in to watch a cheesy rom-com, where the guy is currently going after the girl on the train.

They’re spread out on the sofa, him and Wu at the other end while Korra and Asami at the other end, the night came through the open windows and cloaked everything in a soft dim of the night. Hues of black and white land on Wu’s face, softened his smile even further which does something  _ strange  _ in his chest that blooms like a flower, flowers from the summertime, bright and saturated.

_ “Stop chasing me!” _

He looked at Wu chewing on popcorn. So engrossed in the film that Varrick let the four of them get early access to.

_ “I’ll never let you go.” _

_ “We don’t work Jason!” _

“Oh my god yes you do you literally rescued her from the fiery pits of hell,” Wu commented.

“I know right,” Korra replied. But Mako isn’t interested in tha banter, or the soft conversation between Wu and Korra. Because he is a stupid, dumb fool, when he looked at Wu, and only Wu, he’s snuck into his thoughts. He’s made his way into mind like a parasite. A fungus. 

_ “Yes we will! I love you Cassidy.” _

Wu sighed, “finally.”

_ “Jason I—I love you too.” _

“Get off the train hurry up!”

“Wu—“

“Hush Korra, it’s starting.”

And they have the cinematic kiss. Mako doesn’t look at the screen, his eyes bore into Wu and he’s in his thoughts once again. If he closed his eyes and held his breath, he might be in a different universe, where he would understand this  _ feeling  _ inside his chest that makes it all hard to breath when he looked at Wu, when his daily thoughts keep popping up of  _ him  _ and  _ him  _ only.

He’s a parasite.

He heard Korra and Asami giggle. Warmth spreads in his cheeks. Wu looked at him, and he notices red in his cheeks.

“What are you guys laughing about?” Mako. asked.

“You’ll figure it out,” Asami replied. He winked at Mako. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


11.

He smoothed out the book that he got from the library. It’s rough underneath his fingers.

_ “Perhaps, you are something else. Because darling, you are something that is further than beauty and perfection itself. You are something else that I cannot describe, as you sneak up in my very thoughts, you grow like a fungus, a parasite, a foreign body that has wormed itself into me. But I know that you do not like the same anatomy. So I say a silent apology to you, hang up my thoughts for you in my closet where I hang up my skeletons. And when you decide to wear something nice, I’ll clean it out just for you, my love.” _

“You’re reading?” Wu cuts in. Mako closed the book too quickly for him to take a peek.

“No,” Mako says, “yes fine I was reading.”

“That’s one of my favourite books,” Wu picked up a chair and sat next to him, he pulled the book close to him, “it’s uh… it’s about a book about a male water bender during the 100 year war, and he finds himself falling in love with a male firebender,” Mako followed his finger, it followed the spine, the bumps and lines of the cover, like he tried to pull out the memories from the book, “this is the only copy here, the author was an Earth Kingdom who wa a banished for publishing this. I have the only copy, I hide it in this library.”

Mako scoots himself closer to him.

_ Is it better to speak, or to die? _

“Is it banned?”

Wu nods, “the Earth Kingdom is slow to be progressive,” he says, there’s a vulnerability in his voice, like it’s the brink of broken, about to collapse.

“It’s a good book thought,” Wu said, “really good book.”

“Guess I’ll put in my reading list,” Mako said. Wu chuckles, it’s soft and sweet, genuine. It’s like honey, like summer, like the campfires. Warm and safe.

“I shouldn’t be bothering you,” Mako continues, “thought you had ladies all over you.”

“They don’t… interest me,” he said, “I really only flirt with them to increase ratings and keep my image up as this… sweet and flirty icon.”

“Do you like someone else?”

There it is. He said it even though Mako doesn’t fully understand this  _ feeling _ inside him. He didn’t choose to die, he spoke and now his words sit all ugly, it’s a dark stain against a white carpet. This is it. Mako crossed the forbidden sea and he fell into the raging tides. They can’t salvage what little they had. It’s all gone now.

“I do. But… they’re not interested. It’s fine, really.  _ I’m used to it, it happened a lot in school _ ,” Wu mumbled, he changed tone a few seconds, “I feel like dancing, let’s go into the ball.”

“Wu—“

“It’ll be fine,” Wu said, “keep me safe then, we’ll head out in twenty.”

  
  
  
  
  
  


12.

When the ball passed, when he looked around to make sure there isn’t anyone dangerous in the vicinity, he stared at Wu. He watched him move like he did when she sparred, like it’s second nature. Wu twirls the pretty girl in a pretty dress and pretty smile, and she blushed.

_ “But I know that you do not like the same anatomy. So I say a silent apology to you.” _

After that night, he cried into the covers. He doesn’t know why. It came out all wretched and ugly. It’s something he isn’t to, weird and dangerous.

And that, is where everything went all downhill.


	2. or to die?

13.

He didn’t know how it all went wrong. He has guards that surrounded the whole area, he even had Lin and some of the metalbenders to protect Wu. It was a visit to the United Republic to strengthen and to repair the relationship between the Earth kingdom and the United Republic city. He went through the escape routes, the blind spots that needed to be covered, the amount of people attending the speech. Maki went through it ten times.

So when Wu talked about the future and relations, he quickly grabbed him out of the way, landed on the steps. Part of the City Hall wall suddenly imploded, fire spreading like wildfire. Lin quickly bender a wall for them to hide them from the attackers above ground, a bunch of assassins. 

“Get him out here!” Lin mumbled, “me and the rest of the team will guide the people out of here.”

He nodded at her. Back then, he thought it was easy, how  _ wrong  _ he is. He watched her zip into the top of building, her team splitting to bend a wall between

the crossfire and the civilians.

Mako looked back to Wu, “come on, let’s get out

of here.”

There’s fear in his eyes, he’s shaken, terrified. Dust blows behind them and a deafening  _ boom  _ echoes all around them. If they don’t get out here soon, there’ll be stuck here for backup.

Mako tightly held Wu’s hands, it grounded him

back to reality, “hey, you’re safe with me,’just follow me okay?”

He nodded. Their eyes stay on each other for just a moment, amber eyes on emerald eyes. A spark. He ignored it. No time to think.

“Just get me out of this hellhole,” Wu says.

Mako sets up a wall of flame, it rose high to give them cover. They ran from their shelter, he kept Wu behind him while he send out blasts of fire up to the building for cover fire. He doesn’t know if they’re equalist, or the triplet threat or the red lotus. It doesn’t matter. All that mattered is getting Wu out.

They steal a motorbike as the both of them hop on, he felt Wu’s hands on his waist, it’s tight, shaky. The motorbike roads, they rode out into the roads, motorbike roared. 

“Mako!”

He turned around, he fired a blast of fire onto the assassinators at the top of the building. They quickly wave dispersed it, and launched an arch of electricity at them. It nearly hits them.

“Firebenders, what the hell is happening?” He took his radio from his pocket, “they’re gaining onto us, we need backup.”

All he gets is static.

“Fuck.”

“Mako what’s happening.”

“They cut off the radio signals, I don’t know how but just hold on.”

He sped up, felt the rumble of the motorbike underneath him. If they want to live, they’ll have to park for extra back up. It’s just a few meters, they’ll be fine. They’ll make it out—

The ground shook beneath them.

And they tumble onto the ground. The motorbike exploded into fumes. It provides them a bit of cover, he runs after Wu who’s on the ground. 

“You good?”

“Never better,” he said, flashed a soft smile on him. There’s bruises and cuts on his cheek, and his suit is all torn. They’re surrounded, they should be closing in. He tightly held Wu’s hand, like he’s gonna suddenly

disappear if he doesn’t hold on hard enough. 

They rush into the alleyway. Wet ground squashed beneath them, puddles rippled as they stepped. There’s rubbish and broken pieces of equipment, bikes a lit trash can. 

“It’s a dead end.”

Behind them is a thick solid wall, no use of fire ending out of here. He gritted his teeth. And here he is now, terrified and scared for losing  _ him _ , this is the end, this is where everything unravels in front of them.

A fire, an inferno flickers in his amber eyes. 

“What do you want from us,” Mako hisses.

Two shadows casts along the wall to his left, tall, large. There’s an urgency that brims beneath Mako’s fingers, shaky, feeling the inferno inside him burn bright, raging. He feels Wu gripping his hand tightly.

“We just want to talk,” two people show up. They’re wearing a black cloak, hiding their identity. There’s a sinister feeling that emanates, oozing out from their white masks, with the eyes cut in a crescent shape, as if they took it from the moon herself.

“Hey fellas… wanna get a smoothie?” Wu says.

They respond with a whiplash of water, Mako blocks it with a barrage of fire. The other one takes out a sword from the sleeves of their cloak, glistening in the dim sunlight. 

“Stay behind me,” Mako whispers. He bends the fire from the trash can and sends out a pillar of flame at them. They step back, as it casts a warm hue against Wu’s face, reflecting the flickering flames in front of them, it’s like a phoenix, a lifeline. The two of them just has to hold on for a minute for backup.

An shard of ice breaks through the pillar of flame, Mako dodges out of the way. The fire is fizzling out, hissing from the water as smoke curls into the sky. Wu lets go of his hand, the very thing that’s been grounding the both of them is gone. Mako has to remind myself that the warmth in his hand is gone.

The waterbender breaks through the fire pillar but doesn’t advance. Only the swordsman does, rolling into the chasms and landing in front of them. If the mask wasn’t there, Mako would see them grinning sharply. For just a second, there’s a pause. 

_ The electricity runs through him and he feels like he’s about to die and he might never see Bolin again and-- _

Wu pulls him out of the way of a lunge. The inferno. The fire. It’s about to implode. It’s like the phoenix itself, sending out a blast of fire, hotter than before. The swordsman groans as they hit the floor, slumping as they hit the floor. The pillar of flames is gone, and all that’s left is a pool of water.

“Hand him over!” 

The waterbender sends out a whip that sends Mako hitting the wall. Pain blooms throughout his spine as he cries out, groaning, feeling mud and dirt against his fingers. And in this moment, in this alley. He thinks that this is it. This is where they’ll say their last words, breathe their last breath. Please, bury their ashes together if they can, mix them together, spread them out on the beach or in the sea, a metaphor for their relationship.

  
Always too close. Always too far. No in between. It is  _ intoxicating _ . Like a parasite. Like a fungus. Popping up in his thoughts, his daydreams, making him think of dream scenarios and brown skin.

“Get away from him!”

He thinks that he’s dreaming, because it’s like something has taken over Wu. He dodges out of the way of a cascade of icicles, picking up the sword that fell in the ground. He moves quick, fast on his toes as he sidesteps a whip. 

“Wu stop!”

“Shut up dumbass, let me be cool this one time.”

Wu’s sacrificing himself just for him. Mako wants to turn back time to never be born again. He’s going to die. He’s reckless and an idiot. One wrong step or move and Mako will watch blood bloom, soaking through his scarf.

“On your left!”

Wu side steps it.

“Watch out!”

Wu parries it, and counterattacks with a kick that knocks the waterbender out into the wall, not knocked out yet.

But  _ drip drip drip  _ goes the blood, soaking through Wu’s chest, down to the ground.

_ Drip drip drip  _ goes the tears, hot, burning against Mako’s cheek.

_ “Is it better to speak, or to die?” _

He manages to stand up to catch Wu’s before he falls. Hand stained with blood. This moment will forever be burned into his mind, a sick memory that will forever plague him like a fungus. He doesn’t recognise the calls from Bolin, all he’s worried about is trying to remember Wu’s face, the features of his eyes, green like emerald, the forest. But it’s all ruined with blood, cuts and bruises and dirt.

“Don’t worry Wuko,” Wu says. Mako presses harder on the wound.

“Shut up.”

“Nothing like a spa day and some wellness couldn’t speak.”

“Shut up! Why did you do that! I told you to stay behind me.”   
  


“If I didn’t do that you would’ve died.”

A beat passes through him. Everything drowns out of him. His head is underwater, holding onto Wu, trying to take him away from the fingers of the abyss.

“Why do you care about me so much--”

“Because I love you.”

And he thinks  _ oh _ . This is cruel. This is a sick game that death is playing with them. That death gave them one last chance, one last spark of light before it’s all consumed by the abyss.

“M’sorry,” Mako whispers, sobbing, shaking uncontrollably 

  
  
  
  
  
  


14.

If Korra and Katara weren’t here. Wu would’ve been dead. Mako has been at his side since they arrived in the hospital. All those time spent in this room, staring at Wu, waiting for him to wake up. Every hour spent. Every afternoon when it's the hottest and the room is dry. Every sunset when everything is bathed in a warm, orange hue. Every night, when it’s lonely and cold, Mako has to suppress his sobs.

Because he thinks that he’s slowly understanding this warm and fuzzy feeling in his chest when he thinks of Wu. And just as he has it in his grasp, it all went down hill.

Bolin shows up, a sad smile on his face. It’s in the afternoon. Bolin should be doing something else.

“You good?”

Mako nods.

“Come here.”

He sobs into Bolin a second later.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


15.

Asami shows up with a bowl of fruit and a bag of macaroons. She sets the bowl down on to the table.

“Hey,” Mako says. She pulls out a chair, a soft smile on her face. Her black hair falls gently behind her shoulder, and her green eyes remind him of someone else.

“Hey,” she replies, “I got some macaroons from Tenzin. You good?”

He nods, “Bolin came an hour again,” he says, “he helped, a bit.”   
  
Silence stretches between them, Mako has to force himself to not look at Wu.

“That’s good,” she says, “are you and Wu good, I heard--”

“I don’t know what I’m feeling, Asami,” he bites his lower lip, pausing to think over his words before he continues, “there’s this weird, fuzzy feeling in my chest when I think of him.”   
  


Asami chuckles.

“What’s so funny?” Mako asks.

“Oh my god,  _ finally _ after so long you got it, you love him, silly.”

It all clicks, but it’s awkward and janky, Mako still doesn’t understand, “but he’s a guy--”

“Mako, you dumbass. I’m dating Korra, she’s a girl. Kyoshi had relationships with guys and girls.”

“I still don’t understand.”

She straightens her back, rummaging through the bag of macaroons, “okay, we’ve got blueberry, chocolate, and banana. What do you want?”   
  


“How is this supposed to help?”

“You didn’t answer the question.”

Mako sighs, giving up, “I like chocolate and blueberry.”

“How long have you liked chocolate and blueberry?” She hands both of them to him, he doesn’t eat it, he lets it weigh on his palm, trying to ground himself.

“Since… forever.”

“Then you eat and like chocolate and blueberry macarons and you never let anyone deny you chocolate and blueberry macarons, you got it?”

“ _ Oh _ .”

It hits him, that after all this time, he never thought that he was something rather than straight. It’s a strange clarity, clearing up the whole world and clearing up the fog. Wu isn’t a parasite, he isn’t a sickness that sneaks up on him. He’s something else entirely on his own, something that blooms a softness in Mako’s chest.

She pats Mako’s knee, “he’ll be right okay? And when he wakes up, get him for me.”

She stands up, taking her bag of macaroons. She leaves without another word. She leaves Wu and Mako all alone, the beeping filling the heavy silence.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


16.

_ “Is it better to speak, or to die?” _ _   
  
_

Mako thinks… that it’s better to speak.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


17.

“Hey Mako.”

He slowly rises from his sleep, neck sore from sleeping sitting down. He groans, hair all messy and his clothes all wrinkly. Mako rubs the sleepiness from his eyes. When he sets his eyes on Wu, the whole world stops. It’s in the middle of the night, the moon shines, bathing everything in her light. The bed. The blanket. Wu’s skin, eyes, face. He memorized it all before.

“Wu…”

“Hey,” he says, there’s the stupid smile on his face, “what are you doing here.”

“I was waiting for you to wake up,” Mako realises that there’s tears blurring his vision, he wipes them away, he’ll rather die than cry, “you’re a fucking idiot, Wu. You could’ve died.”

“But I didn’t,” he weakly smiles, “nothing like sleeping can fix a wound.”

“You  _ almost  _ died, Wu.”

He stops himself from going any further because he thinks he might yell at him, he might shout at him for being so  _ dumb _ . They’re standing on egg shells, they’re both fragile. It’s like they’re back sparring again, dancing around each other.

“I know,” he says, “I’m sorry. Come here.”

Warm arms wrap around him, and he thinks back to the time after the attack. When Mako was all alone in the hospital bed, staring in the ceiling. Then Wu came along, wrapping his arms around him, warm like home, smelling like fresh flowers and an undercurrent of pine. He thought back then, that if he got any closer to Wu, they'd burn and set each other on fire.

Like a wildfire. 

He sinks into the crook of his shoulder and stays there for a minute, “don’t do that again, please,” he looks up at Wu. 

They’re so close. The two longest inchest he’s ever had, he can feel Wu’s breath on him, warm.

  
“Can I kiss you?” Mako says, testing the water. He might look like he’s fine on the outside, but he’s absolutely  _ terrified  _ to step into the deep waters.

Wu nods. The two inches turn into one. Then Mako realises how soft Wu’s lips are. He doesn’t know where to put his hands, he lets it roam Wu’s neck, feeling the softness of his skin, then to his messy curls of hair. It is electrifying. It is addicting and Mako thinks how  _ stupid  _ he’s been. They fit together so well, like the very gods from the clouds made them just for each other.

He’s known every inch of Wu’s face that he can map it out with his eyes closed. But his lips are something else entirely, it’s something he hasn’t traced with his eyes, too terrified to be caught staring too long. Mako leans into him, trying to get more of him, drink him more, ride the spark that runs between them.

He wants more. Because this is something this feels like something private, something that only the two of them experience. When he pulls out of the kiss, he stares at his emerald eyes, traversing the thick forest in his mind, there’s so much more he wants to explore. His feelings for Wu is like an oil spill, it’s overflowing now, and a fire spreads and spreads through his chest. He’ll follow the trail of fire.

And it’ll lead him right to him.

“Wait, you like me?” Wu says, and he looks at Mako with so much fondness that Mako thinks he’s going to melt. 

“I think I’ve always liked you.”

  
  
  
  
  
  


18.

He watches Wu from the other corner, talking to Korra about something he couldn’t care less about. He thinks that after all those nights trying to understand this feeling, those times when he’ll day dream about him, when Wu sneaks up on him during work that makes him unfocused, all those time staring at each other and waving it off as an accident.

Mako thinks it’s all worthed. He’ll cross the very heavens and drag him out of the depths of hell to get Wu back if he has to. He’ll even give the sun to him.

“So... I guess I won the bet that you weren’t gonna be single,” Bolin says. He stands near Mako, “where's my ten bucks?”

  
  


He pulls it out of his pockets, “here,” Mako mutters. He doesn’t let his eyes wander anywhere else, “did you know that Wu can fight a rapier.”

“Wait what!”

“Yeah, he won against me when he was sparring.”

A beat passes by. Wu laughs from what Korra just said.

“You love him, right?” Bolin asks.

“I think, I loved him on purpose.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [my tumblr](https://blepbean.tumblr.com/)


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